Chapter 7: Code Names

Chapter Seven
Code Names

“You may call me the Fool.”

The brief answer soon faded into the grand temple and the drifting fog, but in Audrey and Alger’s hearts, that voice echoed for a long time, stirring ripple after ripple.

It was an address they had not expected, yet one that felt exactly right. It perfectly embodied an image of mystery, power, and strangeness.

After a few seconds of quiet, Audrey rose. She lifted the hem of her skirt in a practiced, airy gesture, bent her knees, and curtseyed to Zhou Mingrui.

“Honored Mr. Fool, please allow me to make a presumptuous request. Would you be willing to witness our transaction?”

“A small matter,” Zhou Mingrui replied, his thoughts turning quickly as he chose an answer befitting his position.

“It is our honor, Mr. Fool.” Alger also stood, placed his right hand over his chest, and bowed.

Zhou Mingrui pressed his right hand down slightly in the air and smiled.

“Continue.”

Alger nodded and sat again. Looking toward Audrey, he said, “If you can obtain ghost shark blood, have someone send it to the Warriors and the Sea bar on Pelican Street, White Rose District, Pritz Harbor. Tell the owner, Williams, that it is something the Captain wants.

“Once I have confirmed it, will you give me an address so I can mail the potion formula to you, or shall I tell you directly here?”

Audrey thought for a while, then revealed a smile.

“I choose the more confidential method. Here. Though that will rather test my memory.”

Since Mr. Fool had agreed to witness the transaction, that meant there would be another similar “gathering.”

Thinking of this, she suddenly tilted her head. Her eyes sparkled as she looked toward Zhou Mingrui, and she proposed with great interest, “Mr. Fool, would you mind conducting a few more ‘trials’ like this?”

Alger, listening calmly, was also moved. He hurried to add, “Mr. Fool, do you not find this kind of gathering interesting? Although your power surpasses our imagination, there will always be fields in this world that you do not understand or are not suited to handle. The lady opposite is clearly of noble birth, and I have my own unique experiences, knowledge, channels, and resources. In the future, she and I may be able to help you accomplish certain trivial matters that would be inconvenient for you to address personally.”

In his view, since he had been brought here without warning, with no defense and no power to resist, the initiative lay in the hands of the mysterious Mr. Fool. It was not necessarily possible to refuse or avoid future gatherings simply because he wished to. Better, then, to dig more deeply into the benefits of this encounter and use those gains to offset his passivity and disadvantage.

The three parties at the long table had different backgrounds, different resources, different channels of information, and different understandings of the mysterious domain. If they could communicate and cooperate within limits, the marvelous effects would be impossible to estimate.

For instance, there was the resource exchange just agreed upon. Or if he wished to kill someone, he could ask a “gathering member” who had no apparent or actual connection to him to help. That would misdirect the matter perfectly in another direction.

A lady of noble birth… Is my behavior and accent really that obvious?

Audrey’s lips parted slightly as she was briefly stunned. But she quickly recovered and nodded without hesitation.

“Mr. Fool, I think this is an excellent proposal. As long as the gathering becomes regular, there are certain matters that, if you find them inconvenient, you could entrust to us. Of course, they would have to be within our ability.”

Since just now, Zhou Mingrui had been weighing the pros and cons. More gatherings would indeed allow him to obtain more extraordinary secrets and knowledge of mysticism, which might help him return home in the future. For example, at the next “gathering,” the Spectator potion formula should appear. Similarly, he could gain information and receive a certain degree of help for his present real life.

However, the more gatherings there were, the easier it would be to expose the truth of his own situation.

Sure enough, no matter the world, there is no such thing as pure benefit without drawback…

Zhou Mingrui extended his right hand again and tapped the edge of the long table with his fingers.

Considering that the summoning and dismissal of the gathering were under his control, even if some problem was exposed, it would remain within manageable limits. The benefits clearly outweighed the disadvantages. Zhou Mingrui quickly made his decision.

His tapping stopped. Facing four eyes filled with both hope and anxiety, he smiled.

“I am someone who likes equivalent exchange.

“I will not make you help me without compensation.

“Every Monday, at three in the afternoon, try to be alone. After I conduct a few more trials and understand certain things, perhaps you will be able to request leave in advance and no longer need to worry about being in an unsuitable situation.”

That counted as accepting Alger and Audrey’s proposal.

Audrey had only just turned seventeen and had always been carefully protected. Her girlish nature was still strong. Hearing Mr. Fool’s answer, she could not help clenching her fists and giving them two small swings before her chest.

“Should we also choose titles for ourselves? After all, we cannot communicate using our real names.” Before Alger could speak, her eyes were already shining as she said this with great enthusiasm.

Even if my true situation may not be hidden from Mr. Fool, the person opposite is somewhat dangerous. I cannot let him know who I really am.

“A good idea,” Zhou Mingrui replied, brief and relaxed.

Audrey immediately set her mind to work. While thinking, she said, “You are Mr. Fool, from the tarot cards. Then as a regular, long-term, secret gathering, our titles should be as consistent as possible. Mm, I will also choose from the tarot.”

Her tone gradually became cheerful.

“I have decided. My title will be Justice!”

It was one of the twenty-two Major Arcana of the tarot.

“And you, sir?” Audrey looked with a smile toward her “companion” opposite.

Alger frowned slightly, then relaxed.

“The Hanged Man.”

That was another of the Major Arcana.

“Good. Then that makes us the founding members of the Tarot Club!” Audrey blurted out happily. Then, a little timidly, she looked toward Zhou Mingrui, who was shrouded in gray-white fog. “There is no problem with that, is there, Mr. Fool?”

Zhou Mingrui shook his head in amusement.

“For such small matters, you may decide for yourselves.”

“Thank you!” Audrey was obviously excited.

Then she looked again toward Alger.

“Mr. Hanged Man, could you repeat the address from earlier? I am afraid my memory is not deep enough.”

“No problem.” Alger was rather satisfied with Audrey’s seriousness, and repeated the address.

After silently reciting it three times, Audrey, still full of interest, asked, “I heard that tarot cards were merely a game invented by Emperor Roselle, and that they do not actually have any function in divination?”

“No. In many cases, divination comes from oneself. Every person possesses spirituality and can interact with the spirit world, with higher-level information related to themselves. It is only that ordinary people cannot perceive this, much less interpret the ‘hints’ they receive. When they use divination tools, that information can appear through the tools. The simplest example would be dreams and dream interpretation.” Alger glanced at Zhou Mingrui. Seeing no indication from him, he spoke to refute Audrey’s statement. “Tarot cards belong precisely to this kind of tool. Through more symbols and more reasonable elements, they help us interpret the hints more conveniently and more accurately.”

Zhou Mingrui looked casual, but in truth he was listening very carefully. It was only that the hollowness in his spirit had begun to worsen, and his head throbbed in bursts.

“I understand.” Audrey nodded in approval, then emphasized, “But that was not what I meant. I am not questioning tarot cards. I heard that Emperor Roselle actually created another deck of cards—secret cards symbolizing certain unknown powers. There are twenty-two cards in total. After completing them, he used them as a reference and invented the twenty-two Major Arcana of the tarot as a game tool. Is that accurate?”

She looked at Zhou Mingrui, seeming to hope for an answer from the mysterious Mr. Fool.

Zhou Mingrui merely smiled and said nothing. He turned his gaze toward the Hanged Man, with the air of someone giving him a test.

Alger unconsciously straightened his back and said in a deep voice, “Yes. It is said that Emperor Roselle had seen the Blasphemy Slate. That deck of cards is said to hide the secrets of the twenty-two pathways of the divine.”

“The twenty-two pathways of the divine…” Audrey repeated in a tone filled with yearning.

At that moment, the pain in Zhou Mingrui’s head intensified. He felt the invisible connection between himself, the crimson stars, and the gray-white fog begin to waver.

“Very well. Today’s gathering ends here,” he immediately decided, speaking in a low voice.

“As you will.” Alger lowered his head in salute.

“As you will.” Audrey imitated the Hanged Man.

She still had so many questions and so many ideas. She was entirely reluctant for it to end.

As Zhou Mingrui severed the connections, he smiled and said, “Let us look forward to the next gathering.”

The “stars” lit again. Deep crimson radiance withdrew like water. Audrey and Alger had only just heard Mr. Fool’s words when their figures grew even more blurred and increasingly illusory.

In less than a second, the “projections” shattered, and the world above the gray fog returned to silence.

Zhou Mingrui, for his part, felt himself rapidly grow heavy. The weightlessness around him vanished. Before his eyes, there was first darkness, and then brilliant sunlight.

He was still in the apartment room, still standing in its center.

“Like a dream… What exactly is that world of gray fog? And who, or what power, created the changes just now…?”

Zhou Mingrui sighed softly, full of confusion. His legs felt as if they had been filled with lead as he walked to the desk.

He picked up the pocket watch he had set outside earlier and confirmed how much time had passed.

“A one-to-one flow of time,” Zhou Mingrui roughly judged.

He put down the pocket watch. The splitting pain in his head could no longer be endured. He sat in the chair, lowered his head, and massaged both temples with the thumb and middle finger of his left hand.

After a long time, he suddenly sighed and spoke in Chinese.

“It seems I will not be going back in the short term…”

Only the ignorant could be fearless. After witnessing something so magical and learning of the extraordinary domain and the mysterious world, Zhou Mingrui no longer dared recklessly try the luck-changing ritual in ancient Feysac or Loenese.

Who knew what other situation might arise? Perhaps something even stranger, even more terrifying—something worse than death.

“At the very least, I must gain a deep understanding of mysticism before trying again,” Zhou Mingrui thought helplessly.

Fortunately, the so-called gathering could provide him with help.

Silence returned for another stretch of time. Then, carrying dejection, loss, pain, melancholy, and other emotions, he murmured to himself:

“From this moment on, I am Klein.”

…

Klein did his best to turn his thoughts toward methods and plans, using them to dispel the negative emotions in his heart.

Next week, perhaps he would be able to hear the formula for the Spectator potion…

That gathering just now really was magical. People in different parts of the world, brought face-to-face across thousands of miles, communicating and exchanging what each lacked. Uh, put that way, it sounds rather familiar…

Klein was stunned for a few seconds. Then he suddenly laughed, pressing a hand to his temple as he mocked himself in a low voice.

“Ever heard of online dating platforms?”